referendum
USref-uh-REN-duhm/ˌɹɛfəˈɹɛndəm/
Pluralreferenda, referendums
- 1A public vote where people decide on a new law or a change to the constitution.
Like asking everyone in class to vote yes or no on one big question.
The country held a referendum to decide whether to join the new trade group.
Voters rejected the plan in a national referendum last spring.
Similarplebiscite
Note
- 2An action or choice that people see as a way of judging something else.
Like a small test that ends up showing how people feel about a much bigger thing.
Many people treated the election as a referendum on the mayor's handling of the crisis.
The vote became a referendum on how the company was being run.
Similarverdict, judgment, test
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of referendum apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From Latin referendum, meaning 'that which ought to be announced', from refero, 'I announce'.